Gun-Tinkerer Caught with Illegal Firearms Workshop in West Midlands
A man running a home workshop converting blank-firing pistols into deadly guns has been locked up. Alireza Nowbakht, 50, was busted in Smethwick, West Midlands after a National Crime Agency sting.
NCA Raid Uncovers Homemade Gun Factory
Officers from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit swooped on Nowbakht’s Mallin Street home on December 22, 2022. Surveillance showed him collecting seven blank-firing pistols he’d bought online. They were legally sold but converted into lethal firearms in his upstairs bedroom workshop.
The raid found machining tools, a finished weapon, live ammo, and spent casings. Police also discovered a stolen VW Tiguan outside the property, taken from Wednesbury just 12 days earlier and disguised with cloned plates.
Nowbakht Sentenced to Five Years for Firearm and Car Theft Offences
After questioning, Nowbakht admitted charges of firearm possession, ammunition possession, and motor vehicle theft. He was sentenced to five years in jail following a Newton Hearing at wolverhampton-crown-court/" title="Wolverhampton Crown Court" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="916">Wolverhampton Crown Court on July 10.
“Alireza Nowbakht was purchasing blank firers and converting them into lethal weapons,” said Kay Mellor, NCA Regional Head of Investigations. “He was clearly engaged in putting these weapons into the criminal supply chain in the West Midlands. As well as seizing illegal firearms currently in circulation, we will continue to prevent these weapons from making it onto the streets where they are used in acts of serious violence.”
